Israel attacks UN peacekeepers in Lebanon: Why it’s such a big deal

The Israeli military has fired on the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon twice in less than 48 hours, the UN says.

Israeli forces repeatedly fired at a guard tower at the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday, injuring two members of the force, and again fired at a watchtower, injuring two more peacekeepers, on Friday.

It is almost unheard of for a UN member state to take aim at a UN peacekeeping force, so how significant are these incidents in the unfolding war in Lebanon?

UNIFIL armoured personnel carriers depart from a base to patrol the Lebanon-Israel border on October 5, 2024 in Marjayoun, Lebanon [Carl Court/Getty Images]

What happened?

On Thursday morning, Israeli forces used a Merkava tank to fire at an observation tower belonging to UNIFIL in Naqoura, a small border-area town in southern Lebanon where UNIFIL has been headquartered since 1978.

Two Indonesian peacekeepers were directly hit, causing them to fall.

“The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” a UN statement issued on Thursday read.

The statement added that on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers had “deliberately fired at and disabled” the monitoring cameras at UNIFIL’s headquarters.

On Friday, UNIFIL released a second statement saying two more peacekeepers had been injured when two explosions occurred close to an observation tower. One was taken for treatment at a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre while the other was being treated in Naqoura.

Israel’s attacks were condemned by members of the international community, including Indonesia, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Turkey, the European Union and Canada.

What is UNIFIL?

UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force in Lebanon originally set up by the UN Security Council in March 1978 after Israel first invaded Lebanon in what became known as the South Lebanon Conflict.

In 1978, Israel deployed its troops along the border with Lebanon after Palestine Liberation Organization members entered Israel from Lebanon by sea.

UNIFIL was established to oversee the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and to restore peace and security in the area.

After a 34-day war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, in which 1,100 Lebanese people were killed, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to monitor the cessation of hostilities and support Lebanese armed forces deployed throughout southern Lebanon.

As of September 2, 10,058 UNIFIL soldiers are deployed in Lebanon. They come from 50 countries.

The largest number of UNIFIL peacekeepers – 1,231 – come from Indonesia. Italy, India, Nepal and China also contribute a large number of soldiers to the peacekeeping force.

How common is it for UN peacekeepers to be harmed?

From 1948 to the end of August 2024, 4,398 UN peacekeepers on missions all over the world have been killed.

Of these fatalities, 1,629 were due to illness, 1,406 were caused by accidents, 1,130 by malicious acts and 233 were due to “other reasons”, according to data from the UN.

UNIFIL is the most dangerous of the peacekeeping missions, having suffered the most casualties. In its 46 years, 337 peacekeepers have been killed. It is followed by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, which has suffered 311 fatalities.

The highest number of peacekeeper fatalities in one year took place in 1993 when 252 peacekeepers died during missions in Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia and other locations.

In 2010, the second highest number of fatalities took place when 173 peacekeepers were killed. They included three peacekeepers with the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur during confrontations with unknown attackers.

In the same year, 43 members of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) died on January 12 in an earthquake in Haiti. Ten other MINUSTAH personnel died in 2010 in “acts of violence”, the UN website reported.

In 2017, the UN said an attack on peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was suspected to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group. That attack killed 14 Tanzanian peacekeepers and injured 44.

What is the legal position on targeting UN peacekeepers?

The deliberate targeting of UN missions amounts to a war crime, observers said.

“Under the laws of war, UN personnel involved in peacekeeping operations, including armed members, are civilians, and deliberate attacks against them and peacekeeping facilities are unlawful and amount to war crimes,” a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) explained.

HRW cited Article 8(2)(b)(iii) of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It lists the intentional targeting of humanitarian and peacekeeping missions as war crimes.

The UN statement that reported Thursday’s attack said not only was the deliberate attack a violation of international law but also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. After Israel’s attack on Friday on the UNIFIL headquarters, the UN said: “This is a serious development, and UNIFIL reiterates that the safety and security of UN personnel and property must be guaranteed and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected at all times.

“Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).”

UN peacekeepers from a Spanish brigade of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) clean their weapons at their base on August 16, 2024 in Kafarkila, Lebanon [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]

Has Israel attacked UN peacekeepers before?

Military analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera that the recent incident was not the first time UNIFIL had come under fire from Israel.

In 1987, an Israeli tank squad opened fire on a village where a UNIFIL command post was located, killing an Irish peacekeeper.

In 1996, Israel shelled UNIFIL’s Fijian battalion in southern Lebanon’s Qana. More than 120 Lebanese civilians were killed and about 500 injured. Four UN soldiers were also injured.

In late November 2023, Israeli forces fired at a UNIFIL patrol close to Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, but no peacekeepers were injured.

Magnier said the recent attacks were happening “because Israel needs to go through the UNIFIL position in Naqoura and start the invasion of Lebanon. This axis is vital for the Israeli army,” adding that a “huge” number of Israeli soldiers stand ready to enter Lebanon.

UNIFIL troops can be clearly identified because they wear blue helmets and their positions are well-known to the Israeli military.

How rare is it for a UN member to attack peacekeepers?

It is very rare for UN members to attack peacekeepers.

Most injuries and fatalities of peacekeepers have been due to crossfire involving armed groups or rebel groups, according to UN statements released after such incidents.

In 1994, 10 Belgian soldiers in the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda were killed by soldiers from UN member Rwanda, HRW reported.